MARK programme launched in schools to help boys aged 12–19 talk about pressures of growing up

The Shona Project has launched MARK, a school-based programme for boys aged 12 to 19. It offers male facilitators who visit secondary schools to run guided conversations with teenage boys about the pressures they face growing up today. The goal is to help participants build confidence and a sense of belonging by giving them safe, non-judgemental spaces to reflect and ask questions.

MARK is a direct response to The Perfect Storm 2026 national survey, conducted by The Shona Project. The survey sampled 802 young people aged 12–19 across Ireland to understand their experiences of adolescence. Its findings showed nearly half of 16–19-year-olds say they are struggling: 47% overall, with 55% of girls and 38% of boys in that age bracket reporting difficulties.

The survey also found that girls tend to experience difficulties earlier: 44% of girls aged 12–15 said they were struggling, compared with 24% of boys in the same age group. As boys grow older, their reported future anxiety more than doubles, yet demand for mental health support among boys increased by just 4%.

MARK provides trained male facilitators who lead sessions in secondary schools. Facilitators talk with boys about what masculinity means to them, the different messages they receive about being a man, and how to recognise and discuss pressures before they escalate into crises. MARK Programme Director Dónal Kearney said the programme aims to create spaces for reflection where boys do not have to figure everything out alone.

One MARK facilitator, Seán Darcy, says visiting schools and talking about masculinity is important because young men receive many conflicting messages about identity. A 16-year-old student quoted in coverage, Nathaneal Wei Cassidy, said he talks about worries with girls but not with boys because "it's just not the done thing," and welcomed MARK as "an opportunity for boys to get together and talk."

Concrete aims and expected outcomes

• Provide regular, school-based sessions led by male facilitators.
• Help boys recognise pressures linked to identity, school, and future expectations.
• Increase willingness among boys to seek support earlier, before problems escalate.

The coverage does not include rollout scale, number of schools involved at launch, or formal evaluation metrics and timelines. The Shona Project stated more needs to be done so young people get support before struggling becomes the norm.

MARK targets a gap identified by The Perfect Storm 2026 survey: many boys report rising anxiety and rarely discuss it with male peers. The programme uses facilitated conversations in schools to lower barriers to talking about masculinity and mental health and to connect boys to support earlier.